These articles are a more
personal and philosophical look at the law and business and our individual
and collective relationships to those issues. The articles are about
the law and business but written with a much wider lens. My goal
is to explore new ideas.

These articles have
no defined boundaries and cross the boundaries of many disciplines.
I do not write as any sort of a therapist, psychologist or other similar
kind of professional for I am not any of that kind of professional.
Those issues are beyond the scope of these articles and are thus not the
subject of these articles. Instead, I write from the point
of view of an experienced attorney and business person and as an observer
of people. And as a philosopher. I see things in a context
that is often not seen by others.

I write and publish
because I have come to see that the law can be and in many instances is
the sole source of change in the world. It would be nice for change
to occur because people see the inherent value in the law. But the
reality at the present moment is that it is often only the compulsion of
the law that causes people to pay attention. We have a "minimal compliance"
mentality, a mentality that teaches us to do only what is absolutely necessary
and not a nano-bit more.

I have written much
about dignity and respect within the context of business transactions (read
Dignity
for Designers, Dignity In The Deal and
Respect
For The Law.) I see that this most basic element of human nature,
self-respect, is sorely,
sorely lacking and as a result, instead
of people recognizing that they do not respect themselves and working to
change that by increasing their knowledge so that they can make a good
deal for themselves, many people turn their lack of self-respect outward
and blame the other party in a transaction for "causing" them to "have"
to make a bad deal. Or any number of other excuses as to the reasons
they are not successful, without realizing the source of their lack of
success. They truly set themselves up where they can only fail.
(Read Set To Fail. Also read Capitalism).
I see this in many settings but since I write about the law and its applicability
to business, I see it most prevalent within the business context.

So I write to enhance
a party's self-respect within the business transaction. (Read The
Fear of Winning and Self-Interest)
By explaining the law in as simple of terms as possible, I hope to be able
to teach my readers (and there are huge numbers of them) about how
to take care of themselves within a business transaction since it is not
up to the other party to do so (except in fiduciary type relationships).
And thus to make good deals. To the extent that, by helping others
make better deals, that improves the overall quality of "society" as a
whole, that is an additional benefit.

Winning, which is what
I write about, is one way, certainly not the only way, but one way to enhance
self-respect.

It is not my intention,
within the 4 corners of each article, to explore every nuance of the given
topic. It is better, I believe, to leave some areas general and open
and instead let you run with the ideas, filling in the specifics with your
own experiences. With any luck, the articles will inspire your ideas
even if your ideas diverge from those I express. Indeed, it is in
the divergence that convergence is made.

When I first got online,
I saw the Net as a place to explore new ideas, ideas freed of the constraints
of the old way of seeing things, an old industrial revolution mentality.
I couldn’t possibly imagine then the places it would take me and the audience
that would end up reading my writing. Given that readership I have
been fortunate to develop, I would hope that these articles, as with the
law articles, will find fertile soil.

The Net is boundless
and so should our exploration. I ask then that, as you read, to keep
an open mind.

This web site and these articles are
not legal advice and are not intended as legal advice. This web site
and these articles are intended to provide only general, non-specific legal
information. This web site and these articles are not intended to
cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific
facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would
be anticipated by you. This web site and these articles are based
on United States law. You should consult with an attorney familiar
with the issues and the laws of your country. This web site and these
articles do not create any attorney client relationship between you and
Ivan Hoffman. This web site and the articles contained on this web site
are not solicitations.

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